Stand and Deliver: Mr. Escalante

Mr. Escalante was originally supposed to be a computer science teacher. However, the inner city highschool he went to teach at didn't have the funding needed to buy the computers. Rather than teach somewhere else, Mr. Escalante stayed and took over teaching math. The class he had was rowdy. He handled it all in stride. He used humor to connect with his students. He taught in ways that were different and interesting to his students. One of the most important things that Mr. Escalante did was simple: he cared. He knew that his kids could learn, and he wanted them to. He pushed them to strive for excellence. He instilled in them a passion for learning. He gave them confidence in themselves. He says in a meeting at the beginning of the movie "Students will rise to the level of expectation." The rest of the teachers seemed to have given up. They didn't think that the students were smart enough to learn, so they didn't even care to try. "If they try and they don't suceed, we'll shatter what little self-confidence they have." Mr. Escalante drew to the forefront the students' responsibility for their education. If they didn't come to class, they didn't learn. He didn't try to guilt them into staying. He gave them power in their education. It was their choice to be there or not. In one scene, Angel is leaving the classroom to go with his friends. He waves goodbye, rather than trying to force Angel to sit back down. Mr. Escalante presents to each student the same thing. He provides them all with the opportunity to learn. He doesn't care who they are or where they came from. He knows that they all deserve the same opportunity.

The one big downfall that Mr. Escalante has is that maybe he is a bit obsessed? He pushes himself to the point of having a heart attack, and even that doesn't slow him down. He sacrafices time with his family to put in extra time with not only the kids, but also to teach night-school. "He works 60 hours a week and then volunteers to teach night-school for free."

The story of Mr. Escalante and his kids is inspirational, to say the least. He does what "can't be done". He gives a group of students hope that they might not have otherwise had. He really believes in his kids.